Foreign Tire Sales, Inc. (FTS) of Union, N.J., has announced a recall of about 255,000 Chinese-made, steel-belted radial tires that it imported into the United States. The tires were defective because they lacked a safety feature called a “gum strip” or contained gum strips that were not large enough, FTS has determined.
The tires were sold from early 2004 to mid 2006 as replacement tires for SUVs, pickups and vans under the brand names Westlake, Compass and YKS. They were manufactured in China by the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, Ltd (HZ). FTS designed and contracted for light-truck radial tires from HZ that had gum strips between the steel belts, and began to sell them in the U.S. in 2002. The gums strips help to protect against the tread or belt separating from the tire, which can cause accidents. But HZ changed the construction of the tires without informing FTS.
Independent tests conducted by FTS in May of 2007 determined that the tires without gum strips or with insufficient gum strips posed a safety hazard. The company then informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the safety defect and has cooperated fully with NHTSA on the recall that commences today.
Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. has released a statement concerning the company's ongoing cooperation with the NHTSA as regards the recall of tires sold through the New Jersey distributor.
"As part of our ongoing cooperation with the NHTSA, we have provided the agency with more details and data showing that our LTR tires sold in the United States are safe.
"HZR has a long record of producing high quality, safe and reliable products. Because of this commitment to our customers, HZR continues to collect and share information that it believes offers clarity regarding the quality of HZR tires.
"HZR tires have performed exceptionally well on the roads of the United States. Many other tire distributors have stepped forward to extol the quality and durability of HZR tires. The experience of HZR tires in the United States, and throughout the world, reflects its sound commitment to robust engineering, design and production."
Richard Kuskin, president of FTS, notes that "consumers should know that the affected tires meet all federal motor vehicle safety standards. But we went the extra mile by testing them and determining that they did not meet our standards, which are more rigorous. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of consumers who use our tires. When our extra tests revealed that tires with the changed construction had a safety defect, we came forward and let NHTSA and American consumers know (about it)."
FTS recommends that consumers check the sidewall of their tire(s) for the brand, size, model and Department of Transportation (DOT) number. The recall applies to Westlake, Compass and YKS brand tires with the following on their sidewalls:
- LT235/75R-15 CR861, CR857 7DT5FTS
- LT235/85R-16 CR860, CR861, CR857 7DT2FTS
- LT245/75R-16 CR860, CR861, CR857 7DT3FTS
- LT265/75R-16 CR860, CR861, CR857 7DT4FTS
- LT31X10.5 R-15 CR857, CR861 7DT6FTS
No other tires are involved in the recall. Consumers whose tires are in the categories above and who bought the tires from early 2004 through mid 2006 should call the toll free number (888) 899-9293 or visit the FTS Web site for further instructions.
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